Fadnavis Urges Sitharaman To Make Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Highway A ‘Defence Industry Corridor’

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said here on Friday that the state government has requested the Defence Ministry to declare Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway as a defence industry corridor.

Addressing a gathering of Indian and French business delegates at the Indo-French Conclave here, Fadnavis said, "Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway will be one of the most vibrant and economically viable corridors in India, on the lines of corridors in Seoul and Busan (in South Korea). I have also requested the Defence Minister to declare Samruddhi Expressway as a defence industry corridor."

The Union government is selecting certain areas for encouraging defence manufacturing and Maharashtra hopes to turn the Vidarbha region (through which the Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway will pass) as a defence industry hub, the Chief Minister said. "We have already started the work on this 700-km greenfield road, and hopefully, it will be completed in the next two years," he said. It is not a mere road but an economic corridor, which will connect the industry in Vidarbha with JNPT Port in Mumbai, Fadnavis said. Reducing the duration of Nagpur-Mumbai journey to six hours, it will open up entire Vidarbha for business and industry, he said.

On the much-awaited expansion of the Nagpur airport, he said the contract will be hopefully awarded within a month. "We want to make Nagpur airport better than Mumbai airport with a dedicated airstrip for cargo which will be a big advantage for logistics," the Chief Minister said.